Meeting with a surgeon to discuss surgery to treat your child’s cancer can be stressful.  It is important that you are able to get the information you need from the discussion.  

We have worked with parents of children who have had surgery to treat cancer and pediatric surgeons to develop a list of questions that may be useful for you to ask when meeting with your child’s surgeon. 

Not every question will be important for everyone, and you certainly may have questions not on the list.  Taking time to reflect upon what is most important to you and your family can help you decide which questions to ask.  

Your surgeon supports your decision to use or not use this list of questions.

Your oncologist may have already answered questions about your child's diagnosis, what caused the cancer, risk of recurrence, and your child's symptoms. Your surgeon can clarify further if needed.

We hope that reviewing this list of possible questions empowers you to ask the surgeon the questions you need to understand your child’s health and the surgical plan.